Aby Warburg's Psychiatric Internment and the Birth of the Serpent Ritual Lecture

A new publication, "Ludwig Binswanger – Aby Warburg, La guérison infinie" (Bibliothèque Rivages), compiles clinical journals, letters, and notes documenting art historian Aby Warburg's four-year internment at the Bellevue psychiatric clinic in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland, under Dr. Ludwig Binswanger. Warburg, a pioneer of iconology, suffered a psychotic crisis in 1918, believing himself responsible for Germany's defeat in WWI. He was admitted to Bellevue in 1921 after three years of ineffective treatment. Binswanger, who favored manic-depressive patients, was initially pessimistic about recovery but saw potential in Warburg's intellectual capacity for self-awareness. The clinical journal reveals Warburg's paranoid interpretations of daily events, yet his scientific preoccupations persisted. During his stay, Warburg conceived and delivered his famous lecture on the serpent ritual. The volume also includes correspondence and notes by Fritz Saxl, who directed Warburg's library during his absence. Saxl hinted at Binswanger's jealousy toward his patient. The publication sheds light on the context of Warburg's major scholarly development and the evolution of psychiatric practices since the 1920s.